Huandao Tide

This hotel is 20 years old and is showing its age, but everything is fully functional, and it is very well equipped with even a swimming pool. The food is good but the breakfast is a little limiting, no milk or fruit juice! The hotel is also only about 40 minutes walk from the old part of town, and there are shops and a good bar very nearby. I had a particular situation in which the concierge accidentally told the taxi driver to take me to the airport rather than the railway station on my departure (completely opposite sides of town, and both a long way out). That was the first time I can remember in China that I've not personally told a taxi driver where I'm going.....and the last time! I missed the train and so returned to the hotel. However, the hotel was very good, gave me my room back and refunded all costs I had incurred, including the unuseable train tickets and the fee for cancelling an onward air ticket. I hope that the next time I go on business to Haikou I will stay here....though there are cheaper places if you're an individual traveller on a budget. A highly recommended, almost addictive (!), hotel.

Wow, this was a gem "back then" but now is just terrible. We had 3 rooms and all the same trouble. Staff were nice enough pricing was cheap but... Rooms smelled (of sewer) and we were on 20th floor. Plumbing fixtures falling off, little hot water in shower and many broken items in the rooms. Restaurant for breakfast was dirty and food OK at best. Service there was awful. bartender was sleeping one night and we woke him and he got mad! Oh my... Do not waste your time.

The rooms are shabby, the restaurant is bad. As a whole, though, the place is surprisingly comfortable. It runs on the "you have to leave the key in the slot for the electric to stay on" system. The wireless is free and runs great. There is an outdoor pool and gym. The lobby is nice. It tries to be a classy hotel but the insides are weathered. For $40 USD/night, though, I didn't regret staying.